Hear This Podcast – Sean Collier

This week on Hear This Podcast, I bring you a recommendation from the one and only Sean Collier. Sean Is the co-host of the You Can’t Handle The Truth podcast hosted right here on the Epicast Network. Yes, “You Can’t Handle The Truth” is a movie reference, and you better know what movie it’s a reference to! Why a movie reference you ask, because it’s a movie review podcast. Every week Sean and his co-host Aaron Kleiber go see an early screening of a brand new movie that’s about to hit theaters. Then they give you a brutally honest review. Sometimes they bring a guest and sometimes they don’t. In fact, I was a guest on their podcast once. For those of you that are interested here is a link to episode #79 that Buzzy and myself were on.

Sean also curates a movie review article for Pittsburgh Magazine called Popcorn for Dinner where he reviews nationally showing movies while also reviewing and informing you of the local and indie movie scene. Now before you start asking, “What makes this guy such an expert, who does he think he is telling everyone what movies are good and what movies suck?!” Well, Sean is a bonified movie critic. He’s a card-carrying member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. So if you’re a person that hates to be sucked into theaters by promising trailers just to be let down by terrible plot lines and hacky, phoned in acting, then I would highly suggest subscribing to Sean’s podcast and tuning into what this guy put’s out, he could save you a lot of grief and money.

With Sean being a professional writer, film critic, podcast host, and a stand-up comic, I knew he had to have a great recommendation for a podcast that you should probably be listening to. For this issue of Hear This Podcast, Sean reviewed Harmontown. Hosted by Dan Harmon, a man with many credits that are very near and dear to my heart. Along with all of the amazing shows that he’s gave us, he also created a fantastic podcast. If you truly are unaware of Harmontown here is the trailer for the documentary that Sean mentions in his review. I agree with every word that sean says below and you should definitely smash that subscribe button if you’re looking for something honest and hilarious to listen to on your ride to work.

I want to recommend the constantly hilarious Harmontown podcast, but I’m not sure I can explain why.

Hosted by “Community” and “Rick and Morty” creator Dan Harmon, the show began with sardonic conversations about a utopian colony on the moon. Then much of its first 100 episodes revolved around recorded games of Dungeons and Dragons. Terrible freestyle rapping became a running theme. As the cast of characters changed (Harmon is usually flanked by noted improviser Jeff Davis and longtime dungeonmaster turned assistant/sidekick Spencer Crittenden), the show has become more of a free-form conversation with long bouts of absurdist improv.

Most importantly, though, it’s the podcast that makes me laugh out loud more than any other. I’ve listened while doing the dishes and found myself doubled over at the sink. I’ve pulled my car to the side of the road because I’m laughing too hard to keep moving.

This isn’t the nothing-serious humor of a show like Comedy Bang Bang, though; audience members and hosts alike frequently reveal pain, struggle, and societal injustice. Much of Harmon’s relationship, marriage, and subsequent divorce played out, for real, on the Harmontown stage. And Harmon, a legitimate genius, is as likely to ask a stranger why they’re in pain as he is to launch into an improvised rap tune about having sex with that stranger’s mother.

Start from the beginning and watch this show grow and change and become its own thing. (There’s also a documentary out about it, if you want a jumping off point.) I have no idea why it’s so good, but it really is.

Listen to an Episode of Harmontown now and tell us what you think in the comments!